BBC Regrets Airing Bob Vylan's Controversial Glastonbury Performance

The BBC has said that it 'should have pulled' the live stream of rap punk duo Bob Vylan after chants of 'death of the IDF' during their Glastonbury performance.

On Saturday, rapper Bobby Vylan led crowds on the festival’s West Holts Stage in chants of 'Free, free Palestine' and 'death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)’.

In a statement today, the BBC said that comments made by Bob Vylan 'were deeply offensive'.

'The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence,' added the statement.

'The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves.'

The statement further remarked that the Bob Vylan’s set was part of a live stream of the West Holts stage on the BBC iPlayer.

The BBC said that its decision on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online 'was in line with our editorial guidelines'.

The broadcaster later took the decision to make the performance unavailable on demand.

'The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance,' said the BBC.

'We regret this did not happen.'

The BBC added that it will now 'look at our guidance around live events so we can be sure teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air'.

The UK’s media regulator Ofcom has said it is 'very concerned' about the live stream of Bob Vylan’s performance and added that the 'BBC clearly has questions to answer'.

An Ofcom spokesperson said it has been speaking to the BBC and is 'obtaining further information as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines'.

Meanwhile, the BBC also 'welcomed Glastonbury’s condemnation of the performance'.

Glastonbury Festival had said it was 'appalled' by the actions of rap punk duo Bob Vylan on stage.

Emily Eavis, the organiser of Glastonbury, issued a statement which said that the festival 'stands against all forms of war and terrorism'.

The statement added: 'With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs.

'However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan.

'Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.'

The performance has also been criticised by UK prime minister Keir Starmer who said that the 'BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast'.

The BBC had cut its coverage from the West Holts stage before Kneecap was set to perform to 'ensure that our programming meets our editorial guidelines'.

An edited version of Kneecap’s performance is now available on the BBC iPlayer.

Need more information on what is happening in Israel and Palestine? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to navigating the news online.

According to the source: The Journal.